is there a general rule about getting older and wanting bigger?

[Mike Magee]

Dear Forum Friends,

You have all been so helpful to us. This is a dream come true. We have lived in a tent for so long and loved it. Now we are about to own our first RV, a 13 foot Trillium, as we both approach the age of 59. A question for all over 59......will we eventually want a larger Egg as we age? Is it possible to be happy with 13 feet and a porta potti? I would like to think so but I defer to those of you have been in our shoes.

Your input is invaluable....

Lloyd & Barbara Cicetti

Everyone's different. Sure it's possible for some people to be happy with a 13 and a portapotti. For others it may not be.

Personally, I've been inside a 13 and it just felt too closed in and small. And DW and I appreciate a full time bed and a bathroom and sitting area, hard to get all that in a 13. Other folks love that size and think it's fine.

Get what you think you want and don't worry! If you change your mind later you can switch, it's not that hard! We are going from a 23' box with slide to a (less expensive) 17' Burro.

[Donna D.]

Then too, what kind of camper are you? An only-on-sunny days/warm nights where the entire outdoors can be your livingroom? Or any-weather-will-do and you may have to be inside 24/7?

I originally looked for a used 13 footer. I was moving up from backpacking and tenting. A 13 footer would have been palatial in comparison. But, I couldn't find a used trailer that was reasonably priced and in reasonable condition. Suddenly a 16 footer (with bathroom) cropped up. I hadn't considered that size before. NIRVANA! No more 2am walks in the rain to the bathroom. My (then) elementary school age daughter gets up EVERY night... must be the water before bed? No way, I'd allow her to go by herself. Now I don't have to! I'm very grateful I bought the 16 footer and wouldn't want to go smaller (but at this point no bigger either). That extra three feet makes a huge difference in creature comforts.

Bathrooms, A/C, furnaces, 3-way frig. etc. are personal needs (and wants) issues. There is no one-size-fits-all.

[Roger C H]

Lloyd.

I can speak to this subject as I am 66 and retired since 23 Aug 2002.

I find myself wanting LESS! Yes we are buying a Trillium 13', but we sold a 20' sailboat. I find that I have less time to deal with complexity. This is one reason we are buying an egg and not an A type folding trailer. We have tent camped for, oh, 40 years and decided the ease of just pulling into a campsite and having a simple and short set up was the way to go.

Also, this type of camping is more conducive to touring.

[JRSeguin]

We went from tenting to a 16 ft Scamp in our 60's. Now that I have lost my beloved partner I feel that I am wallowing in too much space in the 16. It feels like luxurious "glamping" and I am not used to luxury, but do appreciate the basics. It seems like a bit much to haul around for one person who is not full timing. So, now thinking about the 13, but I do like not having to make the bed into a table and vica versa everyday so I may be irrevocably spoiled at this point. So, life's circumstances change; my advice is to get what you feel fits you right now and change later if you want to or need to.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by lloyd cicetti

Dear Forum Friends,

You have all been so helpful to us. This is a dream come true. We have lived in a tent for so long and loved it. Now we are about to own our first RV, a 13 foot Trillium, as we both approach the age of 59. A question for all over 59......will we eventually want a larger Egg as we age? Is it possible to be happy with 13 feet and a porta potti? I would like to think so but I defer to those of you have been in our shoes.

Your input is invaluable....

Lloyd & Barbara Cicetti

To answer your question.

We are 76 and 73 years old.
For the past 120 years we've camped in our 13' Scamp.
No A/C, no potty, no water heater, no tv, no internet, Cell Phone sketchy.
For the past 8 years (since I retired) we've gone to the sw desert for about 100 days, no hookups, central water, no campground showers.
We've learned how to live is small quarters long before the Scamp our tent was very small. Had to be to carry on my back.


It's only for to say how much space and amenities you want. We have enough room to sleep, eat, cook and stank up to get dressed oh and when the weather is bad outside we can stay inside.



I would suggest you try some long term camping is you small trailer and see you manage. Think of ways to make it easier (better) within reason.

[ShelbyM]

Folks, I think OP sorted this out about 10 years ago.

[Mike Magee]

Yep, old thread. But it was fun to be reminded of Glenn's coffee can. Gee, Glenn, didn't you ever hear of Gatorade bottles? Lol.

[Glenn Baglo]

Have to admit, I enjoyed reading that post myself.
I've moved up to a one gallon RV anti-freeze container.

[Raz]

The op posted last week he is about to sell his Trillium. He didn't say why.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...hio-86355.html

[Ursorock]

This is a really good question and one that my wife and i thought about for several years before trading in for a new trailer. It boils down to what is the right size trailer/features that we needed as we got into retirement and likely longer trips. Coming from a 16 foot with no bathroom and limited storage we realized that long trips would be more comfortable with the following options.



1. Beds that we did not have to put up and take down
2. shower

3. Toilet / composting so we did not have to break camp to drain black water.

4. good working kitchen

5. fridge, 4 cubic feet has worked well
6. Solar and a good size battery bank. 300+ amp hours (3 batteries)

7. storage that can be accesses easily for clothes etc.
8. under 25 feet for access to most sites.
9. high lift suspension for clearance
10. four season without the dreaded winter condensation
11. Robust construction


With that as our wish list we started looking and it became obvious that there are few trailers that have even 80% of our dream trailer. Many visits to Airstream lots and looking on line at Bigfoots, Casitas and Escapes. The fiberglass trailer appeared to have the edge, and the width of the Airstream gave it great interior appeal however it was a negative in terms of off road and tight forest road drives. I guess the question we got to answer by doing all the research was how were we going to use the trailer. They were all good in ways but we had to prioritize the features that suited us. The size factor was obvious from the beginning. My saying is that your trailer/rv size is inversely proportional to the amount of use it will see. If not full timing then small size was preferred with the right features. We started to look at what was the minimal size that would incorporate most of our desires. Since we like to boondock and avoid large campgrounds and sites full of large rigs where people mostly stay inside we wanted a trailer that we could hole up in during a storm but one where we spent alot of time outside as well.



So the short answer is that getting older does not always lead to a larger rig and in some people it leads to small ones. I sold my 2009 Basecamp to a retired gentleman that had stared full timing in a 40 foot Class A and after two years went to a 25 foot trailer and after five years full timing was buying a condo and wanted to scale down to my little trailer. We ended up going up in size to 23.5 feet and got everything we wanted.

[trainman]

The wife and I are in our early 70's and we have a big home, big vehicles, etc., but we love the size of our little Casita and at this point in our life would not upgrade to a larger RV. Camping is different things to different people and for us is just getting away and enjoying the outside. We don't Boondock, we enjoy meeting new people and in many cases might learn something we didn't know.

trainman